This year marked an important phase of growth for GearBank, a livelihood initiative designed to strengthen coastal economies while reducing pressure on North Sumatra’s mangrove forests. Conceived in 2024 through community workshops that highlighted the need for alternatives to mangrove logging, GearBank offers a practical pathway for households particularly former mangrove loggers and women to transition toward sustainable aquaculture and small-scale seafood processing.
Launched as a pilot in January 2025, the programme now operates across Pulau Kampai, Halaban, Salahaji, and Pangkalan Siata, where women-led cooperatives and men’s GearBank groups work together to produce, process, and market sustainable fish and crab products.
Expanding Our Work with Communities
This year formal MoUs were completed with all participating community groups, supported by verified membership lists. GearBank is now directly supporting 44 former mangrove loggers and 42 women across 4 villages, strengthening inclusive participation across the four villages.
Livelihood inputs were successfully delivered, with all men’s groups receiving subsidised fishing equipment—40 bubu (crab traps) per participant, along with a shared jaring (fishing net) for each group. These inputs form the backbone of the transition from mangrove logging to responsible, small-scale aquaculture. In Salahaji, where bamboo availability has become increasingly limited, the Yagasu community development team is currently working with participating men to identify alternative materials for bubu construction to ensure continuity of fishing activities.
Training and Skills Building
Capacity-building remained a central focus throughout the year. Community members participated in:
Bubu-making workshops to support trap maintenance and long-term use
Crab sorting and handling training for women’s groups, aimed at improving product quality and market readiness
Crab cage construction sessions for men’s GearBank groups
These activities strengthened technical skills while reinforcing collaboration between women and men as they build a community-driven seafood production system.
Women-Led Product Development
Women participating in GearBank have already begun selling products such as salted fish, dim sum, and fish balls within their villages. Building on this progress, the programme is now shifting toward the development of shelf-stable seafood products that can be marketed beyond the villages, including in urban centres such as Medan. Products currently being explored include shrimp and crab paste, basreng (fried fish-ball chips), and salted or dried fish and shrimp. This transition is intended to expand market access, improve income stability, and strengthen women’s leadership across the seafood value chain.
Looking Ahead
As GearBank moves into its next phase, the focus is on strengthening the full seafood value chain from village-level production to urban buyers while continuing to support sustainable resource use. By combining aquaculture skills, product development, and market connectivity, GearBank aims to establish a women-led, village-to-market model that improves household incomes, elevates the role of women in local enterprise, and reduces reliance on environmentally damaging practices.
With continued community engagement and adaptive implementation, GearBank is positioning itself as a replicable approach for restoring livelihoods and reducing environmental degradation across coastal regions.
